When I was a sprout (about 1967) my parents took us on vacation to San Francisco. One night we went to a little spot called The Hungry i for dinner & a show. I had flaming Cherries Jubilee for dessert and caught a stand-up act of a coupla' comedians that were on a third rate sitcom called "My Mother The Car". For quite awhile I thought that place was heaven on Earth (probably a parking lot or a broke down strip bar now).

I'm kind of surprised that no one at TC has mentioned of Rick's Bar and Restaurant in San Francisco at 30th and Taraval Street. It's been a haunt of the Sunset District for years and has a very diverse crowd on Fridays and weekends. It's your typical looking dark neighborhood pub/restaurant with a big open bar on one side and elevated seating on the other which is the restaurant portion.

The menu is all over the map ranging from comfort pub food to Hawaiian. They used to have a Hawaiian band play on Fridays and feature a full-on Luau on the first Monday of the month (as I recall).

Rick (the owner) evidently has been a chef at Canlis Grill in Hawaii and used to be the executive chef for the legendary Gold Spike restaurant. His signature pot roast at "The Spike" is offered here and pretty damn good at that. The food can be hit or miss, but generally his Hawaiian dishes are tasty. The prices are right and the place can be very crowded on weekends. The last time I was there (admittedly a couple of years ago), it was pouring rain in the middle of winter and as I walked through the front door, I was confronted with a bunch of customers in aloha shirts, packed into the bar area, listening to a trio of traditional Hawaiian musicians playing and singing, oblivious to the English pub-like atmosphere. Weird but true!

Attractions:
Anchor Brewing Co.
Cable Car Museum
City Lights Bookstore
Cliff House (remodeled version not as great as the older version, but still great views)
Ferry Building Marketplace
Flood Building
Geary Theater
Mission Dolores
See's Candies on Polk
Sentinel Building
Spring Valley Elementary School (oldest public school in CA)

I'm told his son will take over and the Tree will reopen in the next month, but it will probably never be the same.

Here's to Bobby.

I doubt his son will be a crabby as Bobby was! It was cool to talk to him about Tiki Bob's, though.
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I finally made it to Bourbon and Branch recently, after eating dinner at Original Joe's. It's a new bar that feels like an old speakeasy from Prohibition. It's very elegant and they make excellent cocktails. They have a huge cocktail and spirits menu and you have to make reservations to visit, unless they have a seat at the bar, which is unlikely Wednesday through Saturday nights. I thought the hostess / cocktail waitress had a nasty attitude (a smile and pleasant manner goes a long way in the bar business miss ice cube), but the bartender was friendly and made excellent drinks. There was good 30s jazz in the background, and the atmosphere was very good for lounging and having a conversation.

I checked out bourbon and branch over the weekend and it was a mixed affair. The staff were all fine, I had read on yelp that they've fired the bitchy hostess. Unfortunately, the drink menu lacked the "Hell's Kitchen" selections that everyone raves about featuring the Pimm's cup with cucumber foam and the deconstructed Negroni. As far as drink recommendations I sugest The Democrat. The space is beautifully decorated and the selection is huge so I would book two hours.

On 2007-02-05 18:37, TraderJonah wrote:I checked out bourbon and branch over the weekend and it was a mixed affair. The staff were all fine, I had read on yelp that they've fired the bitchy hostess. Unfortunately, the drink menu lacked the "Hell's Kitchen" selections that everyone raves about featuring the Pimm's cup with cucumber foam and the deconstructed Negroni. As far as drink recommendations I sugest The Democrat. The space is beautifully decorated and the selection is huge so I would book two hours.

On 2007-02-05 18:37, TraderJonah wrote:I checked out bourbon and branch over the weekend and it was a mixed affair. The staff were all fine, I had read on yelp that they've fired the bitchy hostess. Unfortunately, the drink menu lacked the "Hell's Kitchen" selections that everyone raves about featuring the Pimm's cup with cucumber foam and the deconstructed Negroni. As far as drink recommendations I sugest The Democrat. The space is beautifully decorated and the selection is huge so I would book two hours.

Harry Denton's Starlight Room, which is located in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on the 21st floor, 450 Powell Street at the corner of Sutter Street. While not elegant or formal, it can be more dressy. Dancing on the weekends, although not a dance bar.